262 CACAO 



In a " popular work," like that from which we are 

 quoting, it is not expected that the author would adhere 

 to strict botanical terminology, but we may take occasion 

 to point out that the name as given in the footnote is 

 written in error. It is not " Cacao Theobroma," but 

 Theobroma Cacao, Theobroma being the generic and cacao 

 the specific name. The note should have run : There are 

 several other species of Theobroma which do not produce 

 the famous food, Theobroma bicolor and Theobroma angusti- 

 folia, &c. The ancient name of the tree, that is to say, 

 the Indian name, is " cacao " without doubt ; but when 

 it was named by the great Swedish botanist Linn^us, it 

 received the name Theobroma as its generic appellation, 

 and the name cacao was made its specific name. Theo- 

 broma is derived from the Greek words, Theos, " God," 

 and broma, " food " ; and Theobroma Cacao was the first 

 known species of the genus. 



The word " cocoa " is clearly of British origin and has 

 caused no little confusion owing to the similarity of its 

 sound to words which give name to entirely different 

 products, such as coco-nut, coca, cocoes, &c. In England 

 it is used in two senses : in the one to denote the raw 

 material upon the markets, and in the other to distinguish 

 the powdered form of the manufactured article from choco- 

 late or solidified product of the bean. In Spanish countries 

 where the bean is indigenous, the use of the word Cacao is 

 universal. In botanical circles it is recognised as the true 

 specific name, and it has been adopted in preference to 

 cocoa by many, including the present writer, on account 

 of many years' priority over the English word " cocoa." 

 The pods of three other species have been depicted in 

 previous pages ; one of them, Theobroma pentagona, 

 produces a high-class form of commercial cacao, while 

 the other two, T. bicolor and T. angustifolia, do not yield 

 the commercial article. 



